


guess I'll be yours

by allthefadinglights



Category: Formula 1 RPF, Formula 2 RPF, Motorsport RPF
Genre: Blackmail, Coming Out, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29559402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthefadinglights/pseuds/allthefadinglights
Summary: “If I pay, it’ll never end. But I don’t want to be outed, the consequences that’ll have are even worse,” Mick whispers.“So get ahead of it,” Callum suggests.“What?”
Relationships: Callum Ilott/Mick Schumacher
Comments: 16
Kudos: 130





	guess I'll be yours

**Author's Note:**

> I would only let myself write another fake dating fic if I could come up with a plot that was different enough from the Mallum one I wrote, and I think this counts. It's a whole other situation, so I'm not too mad about reusing a trope!
> 
> I'm not fully satisfied with this but I kinda lost track of where this was going halfway through so I just tried to make it into something semi-decent. It has potential for possibly a second chapter, but that'll be after I've written some more on the [three's a crowd](https://archiveofourown.org/series/2078691) series. I'm not sure yet, but you can, of course, always subscribe to this or to my account if you don't want to miss it. 
> 
> It's a story in itself, not incomplete, so it's absolutely fine to read on its own!

Mick is having a really shitty day. He wouldn’t exactly call it the worst day of his life, but it’s up there. He barely trusts people as it is, knows he has to be careful with what he shares and what not. His parents have raised him imprinting the idea that every misstep, every mistake, will be all over the media for people to see and judge. It comes with the name, his dad had explained to him years ago, and it was something he had to be aware of if he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. That still doesn’t make it any easier, though. Years of practice have made it easier to hold back tears and steady his voice in public, and that’s good because it’s more necessary today than ever. He has to keep a straight face in this meeting or he’ll have a lot of explaining to do.

The email he’s just received is anything but good. It’s from an anonymous account, though it’s not hard to guess who’s behind it. Mick rarely dates, for reasons to do with his family and his name, but he fell for a guy somewhere last year. It was mutual, and they ended up dating for a few months until he broke it off, citing long distance and the fact that he barely got to see Mick as the reason. Mick was sad about it for some time but he realised it was for the best. It’s hard to maintain a relationship when you’re all over the globe and working almost non-stop. So he was all good with it. Until he received this email.

It’s just a straight up blackmail threat, saying they’ll out him to the press if he doesn’t pay up. It’s not even that big a sum, Mick knows his mom would give him the money if he asked, but it sets a dangerous precedent. What’s to stop his ex from asking for more money? Where does it end if he keeps paying? He doesn’t know what to do, running through all the scenarios in his head and not hearing a word that’s said in the meeting. “What do you think, Mick?” the head of the FDA asks him. He has no idea what’s been discussed.

“I think Mick’s not feeling very well,” Callum chirps up next to him. “He’s looking a bit pale. Are you feeling okay, Mick?”

Thankful for the out Callum’s just offered him, Mick shakes his head. “Got a headache, sorry. I haven’t really heard much.” The meeting wraps up soon after, Gianluca telling him he’ll send Mick his notes so he can read back later when he’s feeling better. He’s just leaving the room when Callum comes up behind him, takes him gently by the elbow.

“Walk with me?” Mick doesn’t protest, Callum just saved him from being reprimanded in a meeting - not the worst thing but he hates it all the same - so he’ll happily walk with him. “Wanna tell me what’s going on?” Callum asks him once they’re outside and out of hearing range. “I saw your hands shaking when you read whatever it was on your phone. Anything I can help with?”

Maybe it’s the fact that Mick is so rattled by the email he’s received, or the fact that Callum actually cares enough to ask if he’s okay, but he can’t stop himself from telling Callum everything. His ex, their relationship, and now the blackmail threat. Callum is looking at him with growing concern, wraps an arm around his shoulder as Mick can hear his voice getting more unsteady by the minute. “I just don’t know what to do,” he ends in a whisper. “If I pay, it’ll never end. But I don’t want to be outed, the consequences that’ll have are even worse.”

“So get ahead of it,” Callum suggests. 

“What?”

“The only outcome in this situation that’s halfway decent is if you get ahead of it. If you come out on your own terms, there’s nothing to blackmail you with. You get the choose the narrative, you can even paint your ex in a terrible light if you want to and people would eat it right up. Hell, you could tell people anything you want about him and they’ll accept it. I know, it means you’ll be out either way, but at least this way, you get to control it. Mick, just imagine the impact this will have on fans, what it’ll mean to them when someone like you comes out in a sport like this,” Callum says softly. “Yeah, there will be a lot of negative press and reactions. But you can also mean something for so many kids afraid to be who they are. Plus, you get to prove that whether you like dick or not doesn’t influence how good of a driver you are.”

Mick can’t help but snort at that. “Considering I’ve always liked dick, I’d say it doesn’t really matter.” Callum smiles at him and they’re silent for a while. “I’m scared,” Mick admits then. “I don’t know what to expect and how people will react.” 

Callum pulls him a little closer. “Talk to Ferrari first so they know and you don’t blindside them completely. Then, tell your friends, the ones who don’t know yet. It’ll be terrifying, but it’s a sort of trial run on going public. You can ask Ferrari to set up an interview with a publication you trust not to twist your words to break the news.”

“You sound like you know what you’re talking about,” Mick mumbles and Callum chuckles. 

“I don’t, but I have my moments of brilliance sometimes. Mick, you do know that you have so many people behind you, right?”

“Yeah, I know my family is, they’ve known for years,” Mick says.

“Not just your family. Your friends will support you through all of this. So will I. Though I would count myself in the friend category, but I just wanted to make sure you know.”

“I do know, thank you,” Mick says quietly. Callum gently squeezes his arm in reply.

Callum made it sound so easy, _just talk to Ferrari_. Mick is terrified. They can’t exactly stop him if he wants to come out, but he has his doubts about whether they’ll be supportive or not. He’s lucky that it’s very unlikely they’ll drop him for it, but that doesn’t make the prospect of this conversation any less scary.

As it turns out, he was actually right to be scared. They’re less than enthusiastic about his idea, saying they’d be more interested in paying off his blackmailer, but Mick points out that it’d be a never-ending battle, especially once it becomes clear that it’s Ferrari paying. “Okay. We’ll let you do this on one condition.” Mick isn’t sure if he wants to know what the condition is. “You get a boyfriend. It’s good for publicity, it’ll make everyone more interested and it might get us some good sponsorship deals.” Of course it’s about money. 

“And where do you expect me to just ‘get’ a boyfriend?” Mick asks, breathing speeding up. 

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” is the dismissive answer. “If we’re in agreement then? You find yourself a boyfriend and we’ll set up an interview for the two of you to make it official.” Mick agrees, though he’s not sure why. He doesn’t have a boyfriend and he can’t very well just pick the first guy he sees off the street and pay him to be his boyfriend. Just the thought alone sounds ridiculous. 

Somehow, Mick ends up at Marcus and Callum’s apartment just down the street, in the middle of a panic attack as he prays either of them will be home. Marcus opens the door for him, takes one look at him and then yells for Callum as he catches Mick and helps him inside. He puts Mick on the sofa as Callum joins them, looking concerned. He sits next to Mick, wraps his arms around him tightly. Mick vaguely remembers telling him ages ago that physical pressure helped him with panic attacks. Marcus does the same on his other side, sandwiching him between them. It helps, slows down his heart rate and his breathing until his head clears up and he can think straight again. 

“What the fuck happened?” Callum asks him. “Do we need to kill someone?” Mick feels Marcus nod and he exhales a laugh.

“No, it’s just… Ferrari gave me a condition. I can only do it with a boyfriend.” Marcus looks very lost, eyebrows knitted together as he tries to figure out what Mick is on about. Callum knows, of course. “It’s a long story.” Callum gives him the short summarised version and Mick watches Marcus’s expression turn into one of disgust, anxiety swirling in his stomach as he awaits Marcus’s response.

“They want you to get a boyfriend before they allow you to come out. Just for sponsorships? I have no words.” 

“I don’t even know where I’m supposed to find someone to do that with me. For me. No one with any brains whatsoever would subject themselves to that,” Mick says miserably. 

“Good thing I have no brains,” Callum says. “I’ll do it. I said I’d support you and I will. We’re doing this, I don’t care what Ferrari says.” Mick and Marcus both gape at him. “What? I’m serious. They can get fucked with their ridiculous condition, they don’t need to know we’re just pretending.”

“You’re actually insane,” Mick says weakly and he hears Marcus make a noise of agreement. 

“I’m not,” Callum replies calmly. “Believe it or not, but I’m bi and I think we could really make a difference.” Mick blinks at him, then glances at Marcus. He’s glad to see he’s not the only one completely baffled by this revelation. “So, are we doing this? Are you okay with pretending to date me?”

“You want to do this for real? Come out to the entire world pretending to be my boyfriend?”

“Yes. Given that I get to tell everyone I’m bi, not gay. Big difference.” 

Mick exhales a laugh. “You can tell people anything if you voluntarily wanna fake-date me.”

“You’re both absolutely nuts,” Marcus informs them. “But I won’t tell a soul I know it’s fake. You should probably think ahead though. How long do you wanna keep this up? How would you plan a breakup?”

Callum stays quiet, clearly thinking about that. “I think we should give it a couple of months at least, and then we’ll have plenty of time to figure out how to publicly break up.”

“You’re also aware people will be expecting physical affection between the two of you, right?”

Mick tries not to blush, he really does, but it’s useless. He’s never been big on the physical aspect of a relationship, much too conscious of people watching him to be comfortable with it. Callum, on the other hand, is a very physical person, even just as a friend. It took Mick some time to get used to it, because Callum does a lot of casual touching. A hand on his shoulder, a gentle squeeze on his arm - it was quite a shock when Callum first did it to him years ago because Mick isn’t like that at all. “I think I’m all good in that aspect,” Callum says, “but Mick, not so much.” Mick glares at him. “We’ll figure that out as we go along.”

Mick returns to Ferrari the next day, Callum in tow, and informs them that he’s dating Callum and that they should book the interview for them. Callum holds his hand the entire time, a reassuring presence next to him while he lies to their bosses. They’re less than amused, but Mick is meeting their ridiculous terms so there’s not much they can do. They set up an interview for them, a few days from now, and warn Mick and Callum both to keep it appropriate. Mick refrains from replying something stupid, like ‘I can’t exactly share anything about our sex life when there is none’, and just nods, letting Callum lead him out of the factory. 

“That wasn’t as hard as I expected,” Callum tells him, letting go of his hand as they exit the building. “They just accepted that we’re dating, they were more annoyed that you didn’t tell them right away yesterday. Obviously, we know why but they don’t. I’m pretty sure we’re being watched from the office so I’m gonna kiss your cheek now, don’t freak out.” He pulls Mick closer and does exactly that, leaving Mick blushing and trying to shake off the feeling of Callum’s lips on his cheek. “We should really get you used to physical affection, you can’t be blushing every time I hold your hand or people will start to suspect something,” Callum murmurs to him, guiding him along with a hand on his back.

“Get me used to it how?” Mick asks, impressed with himself that his voice sounds relatively steady and not as hysterical as he’s feeling. 

Callum shrugs. “Doing it a lot more often, not just in public but when we’re at home as well. Obviously we don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with it, but I think it’d help.” Mick agrees with him, he’s just not sure of how he’s going to respond to it. “There’s also the matter of uh… kissing,” Callum says then. Mick feels his face getting hot again. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine, considering it’s really not anybody’s business anyway, but I think we do need to think about it. Maybe just for the occasional picture on Instagram?”

Mick nods. “Yeah, I guess we should.” He has no idea why he’s just agreed to it, but he finds he’s not exactly opposed to the idea of kissing Callum, if it’s in a private setting and just for a picture. “I don’t want to do it in public, though,” he adds then. “I think I’m fine if it’s just you and me.”

The interview is nerve-wracking. They’ve prepared what they want to say and how they’re going to say it, and the presenter reassures them that it’s not live, so they can edit out anything Mick and Callum don’t want in there. They’ll even be sent the video for approval before it goes public. And yet, Mick can’t stop his leg from bouncing. Callum links his pinky finger with Mick’s out of sight of the camera and for some reason, it grounds him. Callum does most of the talking. He’s not a natural liar, but the way he talks about Mick - it seems genuine. Mick is a lot less smooth, tripping over his words, and he’s pretty sure his face is just permanently red now, but he hopes people will just chalk it up to nerves about coming out, rather than nerves about lying to the entire world.

It’s over before he knows it. He has no clue what either of them said, a sort of white noise filling his ears as they return to Marcus and Callum’s apartment. “I need a minute,” Mick breathes as Callum parks the car. 

Callum nods. “Do you want me to stay with you?”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll come inside in a bit,” Mick replies. The magnitude of the situation is just hitting him now, realising that he’s about to be out to the entire world in a few days time. Callum leaves him to his thoughts but Mick isn’t sure if that was a good idea, considering he’s been about five seconds from a panic attack the past few days. He’s still not sure what possessed Callum to offer to be his fake boyfriend. Mick isn’t even sure if he’d have done it for Callum. Then again, he knows Callum to be selfless and always willing to help if he can. This is just a big leap from being helpful to sacrificing a lot, for Mick. He’s even done most of the legwork, Mick being too overwhelmed to do anything more than just going along with whatever is happening. He feels awful.

There’s a knock on the window and Mick nearly jumps out of his skin, seeing it’s Marcus outside the car. He’s beckoning Mick to step out of the car. “You look like you’re freaking out,” he tells Mick when he opens the door. Mick laughs nervously. “You can still call it off. Callum won’t be mad, we’ll deal with Ferrari and we’ll find another solution to the blackmailing. This isn’t set in stone.”

“There’s really not another solution, is there,” Mick says miserably. “Yeah, I’m sure they can drag my ex to court but that’ll take ages to resolve and there’s no guarantee he’s not gonna go to the press the second he receives the summons. I was gonna come out eventually, this is just a lot sooner than I was planning on. And for Callum, too. I still can’t believe he’s just going along with it. I don’t have a choice but he does.”

“And he’s choosing to help you. He cares about you, Mick, he really does. He wouldn’t do this for just anyone.”

“I don’t deserve it.” Marcus smacks him on the arm and he yelps. “What was that for?”

“Talking yourself down. No need for that. Are you coming inside or do you want to wallow in your misery in the car some more?” Mick glares at him, but follows him inside anyway. Callum asks him if he’s okay via a raised eyebrow and Mick nods. “You two should probably think about what you want to post on social media when the interview is published,” Marcus suggests. 

“Do we have any cute pictures together?” Callum asks, thinking out loud. “We could both just post the same one, same caption too. It doesn’t even have to be more complicated than a rainbow or something, or all the different colours of heart emojis.”

They conclude, a good ten minutes later, that there aren’t any pictures of them together that aren’t Ferrari issued or low quality photos from last year. “Then we should take one,” Marcus suggests. “Or well, the two of you should. I’m not getting involved in this.”

Marcus does get involved. Callum insists on making it as domestic as possible, no matter how set up it is. He’s got a surprisingly good idea that Mick isn’t opposed to - considering Callum’s first suggestion was just straight up kissing, which had Mick turn a bright red. Marcus turns out to be a decent photographer and it only takes a few minutes to get a picture they’re both satisfied with. It’s in the kitchen of the apartment, Mick chopping vegetables at the counter for dinner with Callum pressed up to his back and hugging him from behind. Simple but effective. God, this is going to be difficult, considering Mick needs five minutes to calm down from a few seconds of physical contact with Callum.

Mick stays over in their guest room the night before the interview is due to be published, both of them having approved it the day before. He’d rather not be alone when it drops because he’ll be reading comments if there’s no one to stop him. There’s a soft knock on the door as the illuminated clock tells him it’s two in the morning. “Mick?”

“Yeah, come in,” he calls back quietly. It’s Callum, of course. He looks as young as he is, on bare feet and wearing an oversized shirt and some shorts.

“Do you mind? I can’t sleep.” Mick shakes his head and Callum slips under the covers next to him. “I’m terrified,” he admits. 

Mick huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, me too.” Callum’s on his side, looking at him with big, pensive eyes. “Why did you do it? Why did you offer to fake-date me?” Mick asks him then. It’s the one question that’s been on his mind the entire time. It still doesn’t make sense to him, at all. 

Callum smiles softly. “You still haven’t realised?” 

Now Mick is confused. “Realised what?” He can’t read the look on Callum’s face, has no idea what he’s on about. What was he supposed to have realised? Did he miss something? His breath stutters when Callum shuffles closer to him, close enough to count his eyelashes. Suddenly, the only logical next step is to close the distance between them and kiss Callum. So that’s what Mick does. Callum kisses him back. The angle is a bit weird and it has their noses bumping, but Mick realises that this is what he has wanted all along. Callum gently pushes at his shoulder, rolling him onto his back and hovering over him. It makes it a lot easier to open his mouth, let Callum deepen the kiss. “Fuck,” he mumbles when they break apart. Callum plops back down next to him, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. 

“Do you realise now?” he asks Mick.

“Yeah, I think I do,” Mick replies, turning back on his side to look at Callum, reaching for his hand. “This has to be the most unconventional way to confess to liking someone in human history.” 

Callum snorts. “Agreeing to fake-date you so your ex-boyfriend can’t extort you and out you to the press? Yeah. You know me, go big or go home. I meant what I said in the interview, Mick. You’re wonderful and you deserve so much better than that asshole. And I’m not saying I’m the fantastic boyfriend you deserve, but I think I could be. If you want me to.”

Mick pulls him closer for another kiss. “I’ve been so stupid. I wasn’t even aware of my own feelings. And now, all I want is you. Us. For real, nothing fake about it.”

“Then let’s do it,” Callum says. “Not that we have a lot of choice, considering the whole world will know we’re dating in less than twelve hours, but you know. I’d much rather date you for real and get to call you mine than fake it.”

Mick’s stomach does something weird at that. “Only if I get to call you mine.”

“I’ll be yours if you’ll be mine,” Callum smiles, curling into him. “We should probably get some sleep, I think we have a big day ahead of us.”

Mick presses himself closer to Callum. “Thank you, for being a total idiot and offering to fake-date me instead of just telling me you liked me.”

There’s amusement in Callum’s voice when he replies. “Goodnight, Mick.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, leaving a comment would make my day <3
> 
> I have a [Tumblr](http://allthefadinglights.tumblr.com)! Come say hi!


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